Get Creative with The Lorax: Truffula Tree Pencils

Today I'm participating in the Get Creative with The Lorax blog tour. The tour is in support of the movie Dr. Seuss' The Lorax by Universal Pictures. I've always enjoyed the book & cartoon for its green message so I was eager to see it reintroduced as a movie. My kids are excited about it too. My daughter saw the preview and her exact words were "it looks so beautiful".

Below I'll be sharing a little about the movie and a craft tutorial I created for the tour.

I think one of the unique things about the movie is that they reveal the face of the once-ler. Did you ever wonder what he looked like? I know I did. Well now we get to learn a little more about the man behind those green hands. Or are they even green at all?

Truffula Tree Pencil Craft

Supplies:
Pencil
White Acrylic Paint
Black Acrylic Paint - I used a paint marker
Felting Wool in assorted colors - you could also use boa trim which you can find at craft stores
White Glue
Paint Brush
Acrylic Varnish (optional)

1. Coat pencil with white paint (two or three coats for good coverage). Let dry. Don't worry if the paint isn't smooth or comes out with drips, trees aren't perfectly smooth either. Also, it doesn't matter if the silver part of the pencil gets paint on it because it will be covered up later.

2. Using the black paint, make squiggly lines around the entire pencil (refer to picture). My six year old daughter made one of the pencils using a paint pen. For little hands, the paint pens make it easy for kids to make details.

*If you want the pencil to be more smooth and shiny, add one coat of varnish. Make sure the black paint is completely dry before you do this or the black paint will bleed into the varnish.

3. Cut off a small piece of wool, about two inches in length. Pictured left.

4. Lightly pull it apart to give it the appearance of the truffula trees.

5. Place glue all over the eraser and metal part of the pencil. Adhere the wool to it. Once the glue dries, that wool will not fall off. It may move a little when you write but it should be secure.

Timber!

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax hits theaters March 2nd. Visit the official site for the movie preview, pictures, downloads and more.

Want to see more The Lorax craft projects? Here's a full list of the blog tour.

Feb 1 Today's Creative Blog
Feb 2 Katydid and Kid
Feb 3 You're Here
Feb 6 Smashed Peas & Carrots
Feb 8 Little Birdie Secrets
Feb 9 Art Projects for Kids
Feb 10 Dabbled
Feb 13 Prudent Baby
Feb 14 Tonya Staab

Post is brought to you by Universal Pictures.

Word Play

Just in case you haven't found enough ways to squander your time on the internet, I've found a site to help you out and it's called Tagxedo. Tagxedo helps you create word clouds from a URL, twitter feed, theme, etc. But what makes this word cloud site stand out is that you can make the words into any image you want. You can even change the font, font direction, color, and more. To test out the site I uploaded one of my profile pictures and created a word cloud based on the Zakka Life URL. It was fairly easy to make and fun to do. Check it out and tell me what you think.

An Out of this World Valentine

Are you guys getting tired of me posting valentine cards yet? Yes? No? Well, I've got one more card to show you. I decided to make something a little less traditional, a space themed card. The inspiration came from my son's super ball which reminded me of the planet Jupiter. It's hard to see but the super ball is actually embedded in the paper. Scroll down below to see the how-to.

Supplies:
Black Card Stock
X-acto Knife
Gel Pens - I used Elmer's metallic gel pens
Super balls
Cut out any size heart. Now you will need to cut a hole for the super ball. I made the hole slightly smaller than the circumference of the ball. I recommend cutting a hole out on a different piece of card stock. Once you get the right size, use that as a template to trace onto your heart. Cut out hole with x-acto knife.

Decorate your heart anyway you like with gel pens. This part of the craft is easy for children to do.

Last, place the super ball into the hole you cut out. It holds well on its own so there's no need for tape.

Valentine Cards with Heart Necklaces

Earlier this week I shared about the origami lucky hearts I was making. Well, my daughter and I liked them so much that we decided to make them into necklaces for Valentine's Day cards. While I was making them, I realized some of you may wonder why I even go through all this trouble. You may even be asking: Won't most of those go into the trash? Do the kids even appreciate them? Here are my thoughts. . .

First, I love creating and making things. I love the design process from beginning to end. I can tell you right now if this wasn't my passion, I would not do this. Instead, I would probably just buy the cards. Also, my kids like and appreciate the personalized cards.

The second reason I do this stems back to my own childhood. I absolutely adored Valentine's Day as a child. I can remember being so excited to empty my haul of cards onto my desk (those days we got to look at our cards at school). I would pull out each card an examine it thoroughly. In particular, if it was from a boy I liked, I paid extra attention to the words: did it say friend? valentine? were there any xoxo's on it? That was half the fun but what I liked most were the handmade cards. I was that child. I can remember one of the kids in my fifth grade class had an extra crafty mother. She always made fun cards. I can recall one that had a unique opening with jokes inside. I also remember a card of a heart eating heart. Now that I'm thinking about it, that's kind of strange. Nonetheless, I remembered, liked, and appreciated what she made. So, I can only believe that there is some child besides my own that will appreciate what I make. I'll probably never get as much as a thank you and I don't care. To me it's a small way of making the day fun and special.

Here are the templates for the valentine cards. The squares are designed to measure 3.3" x 3.5". To make your own, click on the template, right click, copy, paste and print.

Click here for heart folding video. To make the necklace just thread it with string.

To attach the necklaces to the cards, I punched two holes at the top and cut a slit from the edge of the card to the hole. This way I could just slide the string into the hole.

So the necklaces don't turn into a tangled mess, I taped them in the back. I used washi tape because it's low tack and will be easy for the kids to peel off.

At First Site: Mariela Dias

I'm back again with my new series At First Site. Once a month I'll be sharing about sites/artists that inspire me. I hope in the process you'll discover something new and get inspired too.

Inspiring me this month is designer Mariela Dias who writes the blog Mariela Dias. Mariela designs, makes and sells felt accessories. Her bold colors and creative use with felt instantly attracted my attention. Usually when I think of felt crafts, I picture felt food and softies but Mariela is creating so much more with the medium.

Intrigued by Mariela's work, I decided to ask her a few questions. Here's what she had to say:

How and when did you start working with felt?

I studied Design at the University of Aveiro and during my training I did some work on design/crafts. From that moment, I understood that the design and craftsmanship could result in a perfect marriage. I started working with felt six years ago, first as a secondary activity. Four years ago it became a full time job.

My work aims to recreate the essence of Portuguese craftsmanship: based on floral and geometric motifs present in the pottery and embroidery ("lencos dos namorados") and in general, Portuguese traditional crafts and feminine details that coexist in harmony with today's trends.

Do you sew all your pieces?

It's all done by me. To make a bag, for example, I start by drawing and then the shape is all set. I make the bag template out of cardboard. Using scissors or a scalpel, I cut the felt in accordance with the drawing. Then I baste the pieces and finish the sewing bag.

What inspires your artwork?

I find inspiration in traditional Portuguese handicraft but also I do daily walks around town.

If you have a minute or two, stop by her site to see what she's creating . The photos above are just a small sample of her work.